LEXINGTON, Ky. - Talk about rain on the parade.
Rupp Arena was nearly unreachable Sunday as flood waters closed part of I-75 and other nearby roads, and fans who got there were sprinkled with water dripping from Rupp's roof. The afternoon ended with paper, coins and boos showering the court.
Thirty-three years of Kentucky mystique washed away as well.
Sixth-ranked South Carolina spoiled Senior Day with a 72-66 upset of the third-ranked Wildcats, winning its first Southeastern Conference title outright and scrambling NCAA Tournament seedings. The loss so shocked UK that it postponed a sendoff for NBA-bound Ron Mercer nearly 30 minutes and its annual team awards until after the season.
''It's worse because it's the seniors' last home game, and they don't deserve to go out on a note like this,'' Mercer said. ''But (USC) did the things to win.''
Things hardly done to UK in its lair, let alone on Senior Day. The Wildcats owned a 27-game home winning streak - second-
longest in Division I to Kansas' 44 - and hadn't lost a home finale since St. Louis sprung a 67-60 upset on the same date in 1964. South Carolina (23-6, 15-1 SEC) hadn't won in Lexington in 11 previous tries, but its triumph Sunday denied UK a chance to share the SEC championship, which would have been its 39th.
UK (27-4, 13-3 SEC) still has a first-round SEC Tournament bye, and opens play at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Memphis against the winner of Thursday's Auburn-Tennessee game.
''South Carolina is a better team,'' UK coach Rick Pitino said. ''We're a little green at some positions, and they're a lot more experienced. We tried as hard as we could, but this is not a fluke.''
Some had figured the Gamecocks' 84-79 overtime victory against UK Feb. 4 at USC an oddity. UK senior forward Jared Prickett sat out that game with an ankle injury, and UK blew a five-
point lead in the final 1:25 of regulation.
But there were no disclaimers Sunday. USC held UK to a season-
low shooting percentage (32.4) and outrebounded the Wildcats 43-37. It shot 58.8 percent in the second half and made 33-of-44 free throws (75 percent).
And it climbed back from a four-point deficit in the final 10 minutes before a hostile crowd.
''We felt relaxed and played relaxed,'' USC coach Eddie Fogler said. ''In my opinion, the pressure was on Kentucky today.''
UK had its chances, as USC played zone defense and dared the Wildcats to make outside shots. UK couldn't, missing more shots (48) that the Gamecocks attempted (40).
With a 58-54 lead with 6:29 left, USC made just one more field goal, but it made 12 of 15 free throws thereafter to seal the upset. After a no-call in the final seconds incited Pitino to bump an official, trash and coins hailed down from the stands in frustration.
UK figured to seal a top seed in the NCAA Tournament with a victory Sunday, but now USC might lay claim to that spot. After a 5-5 start, USC has gone 18-1.
UK's chief concern after Sunday's collapse was rerouting its season immediately. A similarly shocking loss to Mississippi State in the SEC Tournament last year resulted in the rally to the NCAA title.
''We can't drop our heads, go back to the lodge and hide,'' senior guard Anthony Epps said. ''There's a lot of games to play.''
SEC TOURNEY PREVIEW
SOUTH CAROLINA (72)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
L Davis 30 4-7 9-10 1-5 1 2 20
Gallman 24 2-3 4-5 1-3 0 4 8
Stack 25 1-3 0-3 1-8 0 4 2
Mckie 37 4-12 13-14 1-6 3 1 22
Watson 34 3-8 3-6 0-7 3 2 9
H Davis 15 0-1 0-0 1-1 2 0 0
Wilbourne 24 1-3 3-4 1-2 0 1 5
Johnson 6 1-2 1-2 2-4 0 0 3
Carlisle 4 1-1 0-0 0-1 0 0 3
Rouse 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
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TOTALS 200 17-40 33-44 8-37 9 14 72
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Percentages: FG-.425, FT-.750. 3-Point Goals:
5-10, .500 (L Davis 3-4, Stack 0-1, Mckie 1-3,
Watson 0-1, Carlisle 1-1). Team rebounds: 6.
Blocked shots: 1 (Stack). Turnovers: 15 (Mckie 3,
Johnson 2, L Davis 2, Watson 2, Carlisle,
Gallman, H Davis, Stack). Steals: 2 (Watson 2).
KENTUCKY (66)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
Edwards 28 2-10 1-1 2-3 6 4 5
Padgett 30 2-10 0-0 4-8 4 4 5
Magloire 13 1-5 1-1 2-4 0 0 3
Mercer 39 9-19 2-2 2-2 4 3 25
Epps 15 2-5 0-0 0-1 1 3 6
Mohammed 20 3-9 3-4 5-9 0 3 9
Turner 26 2-7 1-4 1-3 2 4 5
Prickett 18 0-3 2-3 0-4 0 3 2
Mills 11 2-3 0-0 1-2 1 5 6
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TOTALS 200 23-71 10-15 17-36 18 29 66
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Percentages: FG-.324, FT-.667. 3-Point Goals:
10-29, .345 (Edwards 0-7, Padgett 1-6, Mercer
5-8, Epps 2-5, Mills 2-3). Team rebounds: 1.
Blocked shots: 4 (Magloire 3, Mohammed).
Turnovers: 8 (Turner 3, Edwards, Epps, Magloire,
Mills, Padgett). Steals: 6 (Edwards, Epps,
Mercer, Mohammed, Padgett, Turner).
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South Carolina 32 40 - 72
Kentucky 30 36 - 66
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Technical fouls: Kentucky 1 (Bench). A: 24,326.
Officials: John Clougherty, Donald Rutledge,
Andre Patillo.
